I was always a slow learner. My teachers thought I suffered from ADD because I had so hard to focus on subjects that I really did not care much for, like algebra or arts. They told me quite often that I was “out in my own world”. But making up for this, when I learned something, it stuck for years. When you study something you love, this will not be a problem. When I was just a first year student I realised that I never had any problems with concentration - I just needed to study something that I had interest in. Medical studies, contrary what many people think, barely involve any mathematics and I simply fell in love with what I was studying. I went to the Medical University of Gdansk, Poland, which was quite notorious for draconically detailed exams and high fail rates the first two years. I was an above-average student in high school but by no means a genius. For the first time, I felt that I was studying something I could not get enough of. I finished my first year in the top ten of 180 students. I studied slowly, surely and ground those knowledge beans into coffee. That being said - still, while I’m a slow learner, but I try to use this to my advantage by analyzing and understanding what I study. Instead of just memorizing things, when you understand concepts, you will rarely forget about it. It will take more time than if you are a fast learner, but you need patience, planning skills and an iron will to repeat, understand and repeat once again. Fresh out of medical school, I joined the military - I went way up to the north of Sweden and joined an arctic infantry regiment. I remember that one of our drill sergeants told us that it did not matter how strong, smart or adaptable you were - if you did not have a strong will and discipline, you were never going to achieve anything great - and I agree with him on that point. Source
